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Softball team beginning to heat up
BY KJESTINE STEINBRING
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
iISSUE: 78/28
TYLER SWEENEY / STATESMAN
Junior Myriam Trepanier hits in a run.
The Bulldog women’s fastpitch team is back in contention for first place in the North Central Conference (NCC) thanks to a streak of winning play last week. After hitting somewhat of a slump about a month ago and dropping eight games in a row, the Bulldogs came roaring back, beating 6 of their past 8 opponents. Hosting six of the games here in Duluth this past week, the women were looking to build off of a sweep of South Dakota State with another one Tuesday afternoon against the University of North Dakota (UND).
Things started off well for the Dogs, scoring right away in the first inning off of a couple passed balls by UND. Then the Dogs used a sacrifice fly by senior Gina Zech to score the first run of the game. In the third inning, UMD used a couple errors by the Sioux to score once again; this time off of a single by Myraim Trepanier. “In the first game, we capitalized on their errors, which pulled the score away,” said coach Jennifer Banford.
More small ball added to the Bulldogs’ lead in the fourth inning, scoring two runs off a double by sophomore Whitney Olson. From then on, UMD had complete control of the game and added five more runs to complete the first part of the double header and give them the 9-1 victory. “The difference [in the team’s play] is that we are starting to play more as a team now,” said Banford. “The pressure was on to win, and they all responded.”
The second game started off much the same as the first with the Bulldogs scoring off another sacrifice fly to center by Zech. The game was very much different from there on out though, with North Dakota scoring in the fourth off of a sacrifice fly to tie up the score. The Sioux hit two home runs in the sixth, and UMD countered by scoring off yet another sacrifice fly. Two more Sioux players took pitches yard and gave North Dakota the 5-3 win for the split on the day. “It was a total team effort today,” said Banford. “We had opportunities in the second game, but couldn’t get the job done.”
The Bulldogs will be playing in the Minnesota State University-Mankato Classic tournament this weekend where they will look to extend the current streak of good play that has helped them as of late.
